Catholic Curriculum Standards

Catholic Curriculum Standards

A Note from the Project Leads:

The Cardinal Newman Society offers these Catholic Curriculum Standards as a resource for educators to help keep focus on what is unique about Catholic elementary and secondary education: its evangelizing mission to integrally form students in Christ and transmit a Christian worldview.

The standards cover English language arts, math, scientific topics, and history, focusing on unique Catholic insights into these curricular areas and complementing the Church’s standards for religious instruction. They are broadly grouped into two grade levels, K-6 and 7-12. They express student levels of learning, inviting educators to assign or develop materials and choose subject matter that serve the unique mission of Catholic education.

We built the standards on the solid foundation of Church documents, the educational philosophies of faithful Newman Guide colleges, and many writings on Catholic, liberal arts, and classical education. We consulted with many leading Catholic scholars, school leaders, and standards experts to ensure the highest quality resource.

For parents and educators seeking more practical assistance, the Catholic Curriculum Standards are accompanied by lists of recommended resources and suggested literature. This website offers additional resources and a growing treasury of insights into Catholic education that may be useful to both parents and schools.

The standards may be implemented by Catholic educators according to their needs. Where there is already success in renewing Catholic education, we hope the Catholic Curriculum Standards strengthen that renewal. Where educators are looking to change course, the standards may be a valuable tool.

Even amid growing challenges in today’s society, Catholic schools and homeschool programs that embrace and celebrate the mission of Catholic education continue to thrive across the United States. The Cardinal Newman Society makes this free resource available to all educators, including parents, the primary educators of children, in hopes of continuing this renewal of Catholic education for the benefit of our children, our Church, and the common good they serve.

The K-12 standards and suggested readings in Appendix C for the reading/literature curriculum in Catholic schools reflect more than the uniqueness of their intellectual tradition. They also provide the academic rigor missing in most public school English language arts curricula.”

-Sandra Stotsky

Amidst widespread confusion about the nature and aims of the curriculum, these K-12 standards offer educators structured guidance on how to deliver a robust Catholic intellectual formation. A splendid achievement.”

-Dr. Ryan Topping, Fellow of Thomas More College, and author of The Case for Catholic for Catholic Education

Since, in every school, the curriculum carries the mission, these Catholic Curricular Standards are an invaluable contribution to Catholic schools everywhere. Catholic schools have benefited from the standards based reform movement in education with one notable exception. The absence of rigorous standards rooted and grounded in our Catholic tradition. Implementation of the Catholic Curricular Standards will provide a renewed sense of mission for our Catholic schools operating within the increasingly secularized world of education today.”